Sports

Colorado gun debate shines national spotlight on state

By Kurtis LeeThe Denver Post

Posted:
03/07/2013 08:58:59 PM MST

Updated:
03/08/2013 08:57:44 AM MST

Mark Kelly, the husband of former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, testified before Colorado lawmakers on a universal background check bill for private gun sales, March 4, 2013, at the Colorado State Capitol. (RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post)

When retired astronaut Capt. Mark Kelly entered a crammed committee room at the state Capitol on Monday to testify in support of universal gun background checks, heads turned as throngs of cameras flashed at his presence.

The arrival of Kelly, whose wife, former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, was wounded in a 2011 mass shooting outside a Tucson grocery store, not only symbolized his star power as a national figure for stricter gun laws but solidified Colorado's importance on the national stage in the debate over guns.

Kelly joined Second Amendment scholar David Kopel of the University of Denver; a rape victim from Nevada; and others for what has become a national circuit of individuals engaged in the country's gun debate.

All have made several national television appearances to discuss guns in past months. In January, Kelly and Kopel sat before the same U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and offered testimony on firearms.

But has the testimony from national figures and from hundreds of local opponents and proponents of new gun laws mattered in Colorado?

After more than 12 hours of impassioned testimony Monday, all seven gun-control bills heard in Senate committees passed on 3-2 party-line votes.

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"It's more than likely members of these committees already had their minds made up going into testimony," said political analyst Floyd Ciruli. "But when a final vote is on the line, there's no going back from that vote, and minds could be swayed."

Hardened by mass shootings at Columbine High School in 1999 and at an Aurora movie theater in July, Colorado teeters on the cusp of passing some of the strictest gun laws in the Mountain West.

Four of the bills — which include requiring universal gun background checks and a limit on ammunition magazines — have already passed through the House, and with Senate approval could then go to Gov. John Hickenlooper's desk to be signed into law.

However, passage is not guaranteed. Despite Democrats holding a 20-15 majority in the Senate, several members have indicated they remained undecided on how they'll vote.

"Often repeated from opposition testimony to a bill was, 'Let's not act and let's not do anything because it would lead us down some road to where nobody could have guns,' " said Sen. Angela Giron, a Pueblo Democrat who said she expects to hear a more substantive debate among her colleagues on the floor Friday.

Giron is chairwoman of the State Affairs Committee that heard bills dealing with universal background checks, implementing fees for those checks and concealed-carry weapons on college campuses.

She voted in favor of each bill during committee and said that testimony from Kopel — who opposes a majority of the bills — about the broad definition of gun transfers in the universal gun background legislation spurred her to offer an amendment to the bill.

Kopel said the legislation has "many core problems." Chief among his concerns, he said, is the bill's definition for how gun transfers would transpire.

Meanwhile, Sen. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, which heard four gun bills Monday, said debate on Senate Bill 195 could alter his vote.

The bill, which bans online concealed weapon training classes, needs to pass through the Senate before moving to the House for approval.

"If the sponsor makes an amendment that doesn't call for a complete ban for online training, ... I might support it," Lundberg said. "But overall, repeatedly, Democrats and supporters of gun control argued points that reverted back to a sentiment that people are better off when they're disarmed — that's what I heard."

This week, the gun debate was marred by insensitive comments in regard to rape. And for weeks, a large ammunition manufacturer has threatened to leave the state if a bill passes.

On Monday, Sen. Evie Hudak, D-Westminster, faced criticism for comments she made to the rape victim, Amanda Collins, during a State Affairs Committee hearing concerning a bill banning concealed-carry weapons from college campuses.

Collins argued that had she been able to carry a concealed weapon on her college campus she might have been able to stave off her attacker. Hudak contested her, saying the "statistics are not on your side even if you had a gun." The lawmaker later apologized for her comments.

Meanwhile, Erie-based ammunition magazine manufacturer Magpul has vowed that if the measure banning ammunition magazines of more than 15 rounds passes, it would leave the state. Republicans have used this as fuel against Democrats, arguing that by passing the legislation, hundreds of Colorado jobs would be lost.

Ciruli said Friday's debate, which some lawmakers have suggested might go well into Saturday morning, will probably be historic.

"We're the pinnacle platform for America's gun discussion," said Ciruli, who has followed politics for more than 30 years in Colorado. "Which legislation passes here and what fails could — and, in fact, will likely — set the benchmark for what's to come."

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